The travel industry has come a long way since the days of mail-order vacation brochures and toll-free numbers. Even the profile of travellers has witnessed a paradigm shift. Where there was once a clear distinction between business travel and leisure travel, there now exists a segment of remote workers who are eager to make the most of their ‘work-from-anywhere’ setup.
Today, travellers can book their entire trip with a few taps on their smartphones. They can read reviews from other travellers, compare prices, and find the best deals on flights, and hotels– all without ever stepping foot in a travel agency. This means travel and hospitality brands must now compete to provide customers with an engaging online experience.
Through the duration of a customer’s trip, a travel company can connect and interact with customers at various touch points! Let’s take a look at a few ideas
Pre-trip engagement
Except for travel confirmation, check-in reminders, etc., travel companies don’t capitalize on the pre-trip period to engage with customers. This is a great opportunity to build a rapport with customers and prime them for a positive experience.
Instead of the traditional emails, with Nexweave, you can create personalized and interactive videos that provide all the relevant pre-travel information to your customer.
Your videos can contain widgets such as:
- images of the rooms they’ll be staying in
- map links to the location of their stay
- buttons to view itinerary
- CTAs and links to book additional activities
- Button to call their travel correspondent/ concierge etc.!
With Nexweave, you can also create and share landing pages that contain personalized images, videos, and text! Substitute information-heavy emails with these unique landing pages to make your customers feel special
Engage with customers during their stay
More and more travelers are now choosing private properties in lieu of hotels. However, it remains difficult for property managers to get the face time that hotel staff can access with their guests. Personalized videos are a great way to bridge this gap!
With the aid of Nexweave, you can share customized welcome videos and images with your guests containing a recording of the property manager. You can make this media interactive by adding links to important information like check-out time, accessible amenities, etc.
This kind of experience will undoubtedly make your customers feel more special and excited about their upcoming stay.
While engagement with a customer during their stay is critical, we must remember that brand loyalty isn’t achieved overnight. Therefore, it is equally important to continue engaging with your customers even after their trip is complete!
Stay in touch with your customers
Travel companies can foster long-term relationships with their customers by periodically engaging them through relevant content and information. Communication like this can help your company stay in the minds of your consumers, encouraging them to consider you for their next vacation.
Reviews and Loyalty Programs
In a recent survey, 90% of those polled indicated that ratings on a review site played an essential role in their booking decision, and 53% of customers stated that they wouldn’t book a hotel with no reviews.
The end of a customer’s trip is the best time to request a review or extend an invitation to join your loyalty program. With the aid of Nexweave, you can enhance your post-travel engagement by sharing personalized images and videos in your emails.
For example, instead of a notification/ email reminder to leave a review, you can share a personalized video thanking them again for choosing to travel with you. These videos can also contain interactive widgets such as - CTA to leave a review, a customized referral link, the option to sign up for loyalty rewards, and buttons to follow your company on social media.
Recommendations
With the depth of personalization data available, you can share tailored recommendations with your customers for new properties, new destinations, etc., based on their travel history and preferences.
Personalized media in these recommendations can help travelers visualize their next holiday and prompt them to consider you once again!
Additional Creative Communication
The benefit of quality content marketing is twofold. As discussed earlier, it helps travelers discover and explore your brand and encourages them to become your customers. The second is its ability to engage with your customers personally to keep them coming back!
Nexweave allows you to add personalized images, GIFs, and videos into your content material to stand out to your customers. And the best part is, you can get creative! Check out this idea for a video listicle:
With interactive elements like hotspots and CTAs weaved directly into the video, you can share a lot of fun and engaging information!
As technology evolves, so does the way we consume information. And with the increasing popularity of social media and online reviews, the travel industry has had to adapt its marketing strategies to cater to a more personalized and interactive consumer. If you’re looking for a way to take your customer’s experience to the next level, try Nexweave!